21 Jun Stakeholder strategies will bring fun to West London
Use of public space and invigorating the night economy are pivotal to West London’s ambitions to foster more fun and enjoyment in its boroughs.
The discussion on ‘Bringing fun and culture back to town centres’ at the Capital West London Summit, also heard about plans to create new venues and how existing events and festivals are contributing to the fun agenda.
Morwenna Hall is Chief Operating Officer of Argent LLP, which is leading the design and creation of new West London neighbourhood, Brent Cross Town. She highlighted how the developer is taking a “layered approach” to public spaces with the sense that “people and experiences, memories and relationships” are highly important and that people “also get pleasure watching other people have fun”. Places should have a heart, she explained, with integration between ground floor use and public realm that would include al fresco dining, arts, events and music.
She added: “Some of the baseline data that’s coming out there shows an extremely high sense of belonging within our local area, but there’s also really high levels of loneliness. So actually, that helps us think how do we create these spaces to bring people together and fight loneliness.”
Amy Lamé is Night Czar for the Greater London Authority, which is looking at how the 1.4m London night workers can access the city, with one popular request being places to buy tea at 3am. Night-time markets were proving popular in other parts of London where Night Time Enterprise Zone’s had been set up, she said.
“We are looking at things through this dark lens and planning for our city around the clock in a 24-hour way,” she added. “If we don’t look through the dark lens, will we ever truly get the 24-hour city that we deserve?”
Livia Caruso, Director of Hammersmith BID, said pop-ups and markets were a draw in the area but that there were challenges.
“Markets are popular but resource and funding stop them going forward, so you really need to find the right partner.”
Hammersmith Summer Festival is proving hugely successful in promoting fun and culture, she added, and Peter George, Strategic Director of Economy and Sustainability, Ealing Council, said festivals were a big attraction in his borough, too.
He added that there were plans to build up the Park Royal Creative Enterprise Zone and develop new culture and music venues across Ealing. Each town would have a cultural hub too, he added, determined by the area’s “distinctiveness” and residents’ interests.